Newsletter July 2015
Transcription
Newsletter July 2015
A CELEBRATIONOF ART AND DESIGN —PAGES 7, 8 AND 9 2015 July CURRICULUM ENRICHMENT DAY —PAGES 22, 23 AND 24 HOUSE NEWS—PAGE 35 Newsletter Goffs More Award winners on Pages: 5, 6, 19, 27 and 30 The Pride of Goffs Awards Evening The Pride of Goffs Awards Evening took place on Tuesday 14th July. We are very proud of our young people and, as ever, at Goffs we ensure the highest standards in all we do. The celebration reflected our students’ many achievements and determination to be the best they can be in every aspect of school life. It was an amazing evening attended by many staff, parents and governors. Awards were given out across the evening for students’ academic achievements, 100% attendance, contribution to the community, Anti-Bullying Advocates and for top House prizes. Many congratulations to all our prize winners. Congratulations to the students below who won the Principal’s Award for their Year group. Jaden Rudd , Year 7 Daria Neagu, Year 8 Sam Edwards, Year 9 Katie Avril, Year 12 Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 1 Letter from the Principal Dear Parents, As I said this time last year, and so ends another school year. This one does seem to have gone by with particular speed, however. It has certainly been a year of many successes. In terms of exams, the publication of the national Performance Tables for the 2014 exam outcomes saw us ranked in the top 13% nationally for the progress made from Year 7 – Year 11 in each student’s best 8 qualifications, a truly fantastic outcome. Our Sixth Form Value Added score is the highest in the local area, with our Sixth Form students making better than average progress between Year 11 and 13. In addition, we were awarded two further educational awards by the National Schools Network (SSAT) for our performance in the 2014 exams. All things exams aside, our House system is flourishing, our students are logging volunteering hours in their droves, and we were awarded the prestigious Hertfordshire Anti-Bullying accreditation although it will of course always be an area where we are never complacent. Our projections suggest that we will be celebrating another superb set of outcomes in September and I look forward to sharing them with you on our return. The new build has started in earnest. When students return in September all of the hoarding will be up, staff will have moved to a new car park off Dark Lane in order to free up the front of the school for construction, and the steel frame of the new building will have started to be erected. Our contractors, InterServe, continue to be fantastic and are keen to engage with the school as much as possible. As such they will be offering various work experience placements next year, and doing some classroom delivery for us; for example teaching students about major project management. I am hugely grateful for their commitment to the wider life of our school. I am also very grateful to staff and students who have calmly and with no fuss adjusted to the changes needed to our current site as part of accommodating our new build. As advised previously, the front layby of the school – where the buses drop off – will remain available for parents to park in during the day if visiting, and access for parents/visitors will remain as current through main reception. As part of the natural cycle of staff development and relocations, we have some colleagues leaving us this year, several of whom were on one year maternity contracts. I wish each of them every possible success and happiness in the future and thank them for all of their work this year. Particular recognition and thanks go also to Pete Dilworth and Pat Bennellick who retire this year after a lifetime of service in the profession for generations of students. My grateful thanks go also to Jodie Long and Sarah Speller who are both moving to new positions. Both colleagues will be much missed. I have no doubt that they have successful futures ahead and wish them every possible success and happiness. In turn, the school’s ongoing very careful succession planning makes these changes a seamless one for the senior leadership of the school. Tom Sparks, Ben Pearce and Mark Ellis are all promoted to the position of Vice Principal, with Caroline Legg moving to oversee the Sixth Form as Assistant Principal. Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 2 Letter from the Principal Continued Notwithstanding the many issues nationally with teacher recruitment, we have again recruited a superb set of staff for next year and I look forward to introducing you to them in my September start of term letter. Year 7 (morning only) and invited Years 12 and 13 (ie if asked to come in) will return to school on Wednesday 2nd September 2015, with the rest of the school returning on Thursday 3rd September 2015 at the usual time/by 8.27am. All of next year’s term dates are up on the website for your information. Please note that the usual policies on uniform, behaviour, attendance and punctuality will of course apply from the first day back. Please can you ensure that uniform meets expectations, e.g. knee length skirts and black leather shoes – no trainers. This will negate the need for any student to start the new school year in isolation whilst the correct uniform is brought in. If you require financial assistance with uniform, please do contact our finance team. I thank all of you again for all of your support and commitment to the school. I am enormously grateful. I hope that you enjoy a peaceful and happy summer holiday. Yours sincerely, Alison J Garner Principal Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 3 Anti-Bullying Advocates Anti Bullying Advocates From September next year each form in Year 7 and Year 8 will be assigned at least two Anti Bullying Advocates. The ABAs will support forms during ATM by running presentations and activities which would include, for example: Internet safety, Self image and ways to report bullying. Year 6 Secondary Transfer: Some Anti Bullying Advocates met up with the forms that they will be supporting when the Year 6 students came into Goffs on 9th July 2015. They showed them around the school and delivered a presentation on the Anti Bullying Advocate role. House Games Challenges: For one week only ABAs ran House games aimed at engaging students in positive activities and rewarding them with House points. Skipping Rope Challenge The first House game was Skipping Rope Challenge—the students had to see how many skips they could do in 30 seconds. The winning House was Eagle which received 100 House points. Stacking Cups Challenge The second House game was Stacking Cups Challenge—where students had to stack a six cup tower in the quickest time. Falcon was the winning House and was awarded 100 House points. Charmaine Charles Youth Worker Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 4 Pride of Goffs Year 7 Award Winners Art Loukas Vernadakis Drama English Food Technology French Geography History ICT Maths Music Physical Education Religious Studies Science Spanish Textiles Jasmine Chastell Ruby Sapsford Nadia McCabe Chase Fry Maddie Phillips Faye Gordon Shakyra Dharmakeerthi Aidan Harris Lara Wollington Ivy Wright Shakyra Dharmakeerthi Libby Burbidge Shakyra Dharmakeerthi Ruby Sapsford 100% Attendance Awards Thomas Arno Owen Barnard Lucy Bester Ethan Brewer Alexandria Cecil Morgan Curtis Alfie Dewson Chase Fry Callum Gaffney Benjamin Gibbs House Awards Nadia McCabe Bill Styles Millie Warmerdam Renee Harding Lara Wollington Aspiration & Achievement Award Faye Gordon Volunteering Award Loukas Vernadakis Director of Learning Award Nadia McCabe & Lara Wollington Principal’s Award Jaden Rudd Vinnie Gidden Faye Gordon Samin Hamid Jake Johnson Joseph Kiely James Martin Owen Radley Matthew Savidge Chloe Teague Rachel Ttofi Loukas Vernadakis Lara Wollington singing “Good Morning Baltimore” Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 5 Year 8 Award Winners Art Drama English Food Technology French Geography History ICT Maths Music Physical Education Religious Studies Science Spanish Textiles Director of Learning Award Daria Neagu Yasmine Abdelmoula Zack Spence Aimee Scottow Farrin Haque Daria Neagu Rosie Featley Shania Dharmakeerthi Farrin Haque Daisy Dewson Kieran Bester Farrin Haque Chloe Gavin Nicholas Mannan Molly Pitt Tilly Mackay 100% Attendance Awards Anti-Bullying Advocates Grace Hegley Alexis Kay Gabrielle Mason House Awards Nicholas Mannan Holly Chandler Oliver Bayliss Lily Lancaster Tammy Allum Aspiration & Achievement Award Mitch Massiah Volunteering Award Oliver Bayliss Principal’s Award Daria Neagu James Allen Kieran Bester Annabelle Clarke Hannah Cookson Kim Edgley Max Fagg Joshua Foster Rebecca Foster Chloe Gavin Sibel Hamit Louise Hunt Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 6 Adele Japal Josef Kaya Sonny Lambrou Lily Lancaster Nicholas Mannan Francesco Orlando Mickie Palfreman Ibrahim Palit Tiffany Pavlou Gurveer Punny Zack Spence A Celebration of Creative Arts & Design GCSE & BTEC Art A’ Level Art & Photography GCSE & A’ Level Textiles GCSE & A Level Food Technology A’ Level Product Design Students in the creative subjects brought the year to an end with an amazing display of talent in our final Arts and Design Exhibition. This is the second year at Goffs that we have combined work from across Art and Technology. The resulting display was tremendous! GCSE & A’ LEVEL TEXTILES The exhibition opened on Thursday 16th July, with a celebration evening for all of our school community. This involved displays of 2D and 3D art & design work, and a superb buffet prepared and served by our A’ level food technology students. It was fantastic to see so many of our students, past and present on the evening. We were also delighted to welcome some of our younger students, who left feeling inspired for what they could achieve in the future. Many congratulations to all students and staff involved. The resulting exhibition marks the end of an incredible year and is a true testimony to the amazing talent we have in our school. Mary Greenacre – Head of Art & Photography Emily Bishop – Teacher of Art & Photography Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 7 A’ LEVEL ART & PHOTOGRAPHY GCSE & A’ LEVEL FOOD TECHNOLOGY Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 8 A’ LEVEL PRODUCT DESIGN: 3D Look out for more examples of the fantastic work throughout this Newsletter. Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 9 Year 7 Shakespeare Workshop After a very successful turnout last year, we invited a Shakespeare theatre company known as The Globe Players back to visit us. They performed on the 8th May 2015 to over onehundred and twenty students in Year 7 and the whole performance was, once again, a complete success. The purpose of the visit was to consolidate all knowledge gained from the previous term’s scheme of work called ‘Shocking Shakespeare’, as well as to allow the students to experience the wonder, joy and humour of witnessing some of Shakespeare’s plays in action on the stage. The Year 7 students present were incredibly well behaved and were a credit to us here at Goffs. Students found the event interesting, engaging and beneficial to their learning. Below are some of the testimonials from a selection of students who attended the event, as well as some images that were taken on the day. Some quotes from the students: “They were entertaining [and] exciting” Fraser Chung. “I enjoyed the Shakespeare play…because they made learning about someone who isn’t incredibly interesting for some people, a fun experience” Owen Barnard. “My favourite part was the beginning; it had me on the edge of my seat” Matt Savidge “… it was good because at the end there was a Q&A session where questions could be answered and [we could] understand things [we] didn’t at first” Thomas Arno. “I had never seen a Shakespeare play before so I may see one now if they are all that good” Jake Johnson. “I learned a lot from it” Lucia Angelides. Wishing you all a fabulous summer. Miss Everist Teacher of English Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 10 Year 7 Poetry Anthology For the last few weeks, the Year 7s have been working on developing a Poetry Anthology based around a theme of their choice. They have worked hard to produce a variety of different poems such as haikus, ballads, sonnets, and limericks and some have produced some truly incredible and creative work that shows a real dedication both to the art of writing poetry and to presenting it in a manner that is both appropriate and engaging. The students have worked extremely hard this entire half-term and, as a result, have produced some truly incredibly work. Well done, Year 7! I liked learning about poetry because I got to write what I wanted, which was quite fun. I felt that I did not feel as under pressure as when I get a certain subject to write about. I liked the poem “Give” in particular because it was creative. When we got to write our own iambic tetrameter poem I found I was better at it. In this term we learned poems such as “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfried Owen and “Tich Miller” by Wendy Cope. Overall I really enjoyed doing poetry this term. Morgan Williams 7W1 I liked learning about poems because before we started learning about poems I didn’t know anything but now I know about simile, onomatopoeia, assonance, alliteration, and stanzas. Dulce Et Decorum Est was a poem by Wilfried Owen and was a poem about war. It was interesting because I got to learn new things about WW1. The title was sarcastic because it meant it is a sweet and honourable thing to die for one’s country. My favourite lesson was when we learned about Limericks, because they were funny and random. We learned about a poem called Tich Miller. It was about bullying and I learned a lot from that poem. We learned loads of different techniques, such as personification. Overall I have enjoyed work this term. Jessica Bender 7W1 A photograph of Christiana Stylianides' work, which is fantastic. She has done an anthology on nature and has presented her poems as leaves on a paper mache tree. Miss Papagiannopoulos Teacher of English I really enjoyed writing poetry and learning poetry this term. I enjoyed writing my bullying poem and learning about the different types of poetry. I also enjoyed being able to write what I want without having someone tell me what I had to write. My favourite poem was “The Raven” because I think it told its story better than the other poems did, by setting mood and atmosphere. Toby Eldred 7W1 I really enjoyed learning about poetry and putting together the poetry anthology. I learned a lot of new techniques in poetry such as iambic pentameter, onomatopoeic words and sonnets ending in rhyming couplets. The poem I really liked was the Limerick as we got to write our own one. My Limerick was about my pony. I also liked Dulce Et Decorum Est which was a sarcastic title that really meant it’s a sweet and honourable thing to die for one’s country. It is a poem by Wilfried Owen, set and written during WW1. I enjoyed the poem because it painted a vivid picture in my head about how dreadful the war was and also how some people were forced into it. I liked covering all the different types of poems and learning all the different techniques. Madison Phillips 7W1 Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 11 Year 8 Trip to “Wicked” On Thursday 11th June 2015, we took a group of 48 Year 8 students to see the phenomenon 'Wicked', at the Apollo theatre. Winner of over 50 major awards including a ‘Grammy Award’ and three ‘Tony Awards’, 'Wicked' is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. This is an annual event that takes place during the summer term and works alongside our final Year 8 scheme of work, ‘The Book Project’. The trip helps expose students to writing and sequencing a story successfully, the genre of fantasy and the ability to adapt well known texts. “Best production I have ever seen” - Elisa Kana “The songs were indeed wicked; I actually cried.” - Daisy Dewson All students had a fantastic time and were very well-behaved. “I was simply blown away” - Jadan Hassan We cannot wait to go again next year! “I’m so inspired and would love to be on stage one day” - Ellie Orton Miss Stewart Teacher of English This year’s public speaking competition was again a great success and we would like to say a huge well done to all of the students who took part. It is a very nerve-wracking experience, standing in front of all your classmates to deliver a speech that you know you are being judged on, but our speakers did a fantastic job. Public Speaking Competition Students were presented with a topic a month prior to the competition, with Years 7 and 8 speaking about the very current issue of smoking in public places, and Years 9 and 10 tackling the sensitive subject of organ donation. After a fantastic flurry of verbal duelling, we are very pleased to announce that the following students were the successful winners of this annual event: Ibrahim Palit, Year 8: 1st place Nicholas Mannan, Year 8 and Jake Hassan, Year 10: 2nd place Lara Wollington, Year 7 and Caitlin Firn, Year 9: 3rd place April Avakian, Year 10 and Daniel Harris, Year 9: outstanding contributions Well done to you all! We look forward to more impressive speeches next year and to giving more trophies and prizes to the victors. Miss Huseyin & Mrs Enstone English Winner of the Public Speaking Competition— Ibrahim Palit, Year 8 Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 12 “Romeo and Juliet” Year 10 Houston Education took over G1, turning it into a theatre production of Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet” for Year 10 students. Students were given the opportunity to dress up, wear masks and wield very heavy swords! One of the areas of focus was to think about language and how the characters express their feelings through words, syllables and sounds. In Act 3 scene 5, the well- known father- daughter scene, the actors made students think about what Juliet says: Juliet: “Well, thou hast comforted me marvellous much. Go in: and tell my lady I am gone”. And what her father says and how it conveys emotions: Capulet: “How now, how now, chop-logic! What is this?” We looked at each character in detail and students were able to see that Juliet was feeling melancholic and exhausted after her father’s onslaught. All the vowel sounds express her mood. Capulet, however, is angry and aggressive and the short words and harsh consonant sounds reflect this. Students found this absolutely fascinating and were able to do further research on this idea in class. The morning brought the play off the page and as a GCSE text, it really helped students analyse language in their essays. Mrs Collins Teacher of English Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 13 Literacy It has been a busy year with regard to Literacy around the school. This academic year, Goffs has seen a revamp of the Goffs Marking system used around the school. Teachers were involved in the process to help incorporate marking symbols that were useful for their subject. Students were also involved heavily in the process and a competition was held for students to create a new design for the marking chart. There were many great designs and it was difficult to pick just one winner, therefore three winners were chosen: Shania Dharmakeerthi, Year 8, Grace Hegley, Year 8 and Chloe Willingham, Year 9. Congratulations go to them. To further promote literacy within the school, 'What Your Teacher is Reading' posters were introduced into every teacher's room. This helped to inspire discussion of reading with teachers from all subjects, as well as recommendations for good reads among students and teachers. For World Book Day, Goffs teamed up with Oxfam's 'Message in a Book' incentive where students donated unwanted books, with hand written messages inside to promote the work Oxfam do in the UK and around the world. The Manager of Oxfam said: 'We had such positive feedback with regards to the 'Message in a Book' and the contents of the letters themselves. Massive thank you to all your students for getting involved and really Making a Difference' Another successful Mother and Daughters event was held on 13th July 2015. This was led by Goffs' Literacy Leaders who contributed their time and effort to creating engaging and fun activities for both students and parents. Thank you Literacy Leaders for all your hard work and dedication to literacy! Last but not least, Goffs students were entered into the Young Writer's 'Poetopia' competition. Inspired by the Divergent series, students wrote poems in a particular style depending on what 'faction' they belonged to. Students wrote a selection of excellent poems which were published in their regional anthology! With more emphasis being placed on students to have high levels of literacy, Goffs will continue to promote literacy within lessons and around the school. Miss Cole Teacher of English Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 14 LRC Year 9 Author Visit Bestselling American author Maria V. Snyder came to talk to all Year 9 students on Tuesday 24th March in G1. Her books and short stories have appeared on the New York Times best seller list recently and we were very fortunate to be able to have her visit us as she was on a 2 week whistle-stop tour of the UK. Speaking mainly about where she gets her ideas for her stories and how laborious the editing process can be, she also showed the students a video of couple of spoofs of her novels which were hilarious! After answering some thought provoking questions from the audience she stayed on to sign and dedicate her books that were on sale to students and staff courtesy of the bookshop in Hoddesdon “Books@hoddesdon”. Miss Griffiths in Science particularly enjoyed meeting Maria as she is her favourite author and has a copy of all her titles. Charlotte Brooks (9Q) commented, ” I enjoyed listening to her and I found her advice really useful”. Year 9 students with their signed books Mrs Mackay Librarian GOFFS LRC POET TREE! To coincide with the Year 8 scheme of learning on poetry earlier this term, we thought it would be a good idea to display some of them in the LRC but we needed something attractive to display them on. Soon after talking to Mrs Johnson and Mrs Swift, our artistically gifted teaching assistants, about the idea of a tree, they volunteered to paint one on the back wall of the LRC! As it was coming to life, the Year 8s were writing their poems on green leaves and sticking them to the branches. As the seasons change, more poems will be written on National Poetry Day in October on yellow and brown leaves and in December we will cover the tree in cotton wool and put white poems on it. Mrs Mackay Librarian Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 15 LRC Calling all A level English Students As part of my drive to improve support materials for the 6th form next September I have recently added a number of books to the Sixth Form section of the LRC in order to help English A level students understand their texts better, including information on Freud and the Oedipus complex to better understand Hamlet. Copies of all the American literature texts featured in the exam will be on the shelves as well for students to read and compare. In addition, an annual subscription to the brilliant English magazine “emagazine” will ensure that there is a hard copy in the LRC for students to read, as well as online availability. Finally we have a six month subscription to a database particularly relevant to English called the “Literary Reference Center” (American spelling!) which is far better and quicker than trawling though Google for information. There will be posters up in the LRC giving the website and log in details needed to access it. Best Books of 2015 When students come into the LRC looking for a book to read for ATM or English lessons or even to read in their own time, I’m often asked for a “good book”. Of course, this depends very much on personal taste and what some will devour with anticipation others will sneer at with derision. However, as a means of giving you an idea of some of the “good books” we have in the LRC, I have put together a list of 6 titles some of which have been recommended by students; appeared on the shortlist of a prestigious young peoples’ prize winners list (the Carnegie Award) and another chosen as a one of the Bookbuzz titles this year (a free book selection for Year 7s to choose from and keep taking place in the LRC lessons every Autumn term) and recommended by the top book charity, Booktrust. The titles are on the following two pages. All titles are in stock in the LRC. Mrs R Mackay LRC Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 16 Best Books of 2015 Years 7 and 8 “After Tomorrow” Written by Gillian Cross Armageddon Monday, the day that five banks crashed simultaneously, changed everything. Now there’s no food in the supermarkets, Matt’s Mum is growing or bartering what they need to stay alive, and armed gangs are hunting down hoarders. After their house is raided, Mum decides enough is enough: her friend Bob can smuggle them to France, where life may be better. But the plan goes wrong when Matt, his younger brother and stepdad are forced to leave Mum behind, and leave their home with nothing but their clothes and Matt’s bike. In France, they find themselves living in a refugee camp, with no home, no money and no Mum. Determined and resourceful, Matt uses his bike-fixing skills to earn money and help his brother when he falls ill, making new friends and shedding unreliable ones. There is danger on all sides in this vivid, fast-moving and compellingly believable post-crash novel. “You Don’t Know Me” Written by Sophia Bennett What happens if you betray your best friend on TV, in front of millions? When singers and best friends Sasha and Rose reach the finals of competition Killer Act, and are told that one of them must go, Sasha is forced to make a decision that will change both their lives. This engaging story from Sophia Bennett deals with lots of contemporary issues that will resonate with teen readers – social media, reality TV, online bullying, romance, music and bands . Yet it’s also, at its heart, a story about loyalty and friendship, which comes together with an uplifting message about the power of creativity and self-expression. Years 9 and 10 This is the harrowing tale of two brothers, Jammy and Sonny, whose lives are changed forever after Jammy joins the army and is sent to Afghanistan to fight for his country. We follow the boys as Jammy returns home, profoundly affected by the terrifying things he has witnessed. Their old way of life is broken and Sonny has to do all he can to hold things together. But just how far will he go to save the brother who has always put him first? Acclaimed author Phil Earle packs a punch in this thought-provoking and moving tale of family, friendship and the terrible impact of war. “Heroic” Written by Phil Earle Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 17 Best Books of 2015 Cuckoo Song Written by Frances Hardinge When Triss wakes up from her accident she knows that something is wrong. She is strangely, insatiably hungry; her hair is always full of leaves; her tears turn to cobwebs; her younger sister seems to hate her. Her parents are whispering behind closed doors and she still can’t remember what actually happened. Even her diary is no help: when she opens it she finds all the pages have been ripped out. Her quest to discover the truth will soon take her on a frightening adventure into the sinister hidden underworld of the city. HEROIC is the tale documenting the life changing experience of fighting in a war zone and how it impacts on the whole family on Jammy’s return home. CUCKOO SONG is an imaginative reworking of old tales of changelings: haunting, atmospheric and full of mystery. Sensitive readers beware: there are some genuinely chilling and disturbing scenes here; however, ambitious readers will relish this clever, complex and rewarding tale. These two titles, very different in their content, are the best to have been published in the past year according to the top reading charity BOOK TRUST. Year 11 and above “More than This” Written by Patrick Ness Sixteen year old Seth drowns in the ocean and he awakens – naked, bruised, thirsty, but alive in the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before the terrible event that led his family to relocate to America, except that now the neighbourhood is completely abandoned. Seth heads out across the apocalyptic landscape in search of answers – but all he finds are more baffling questions. Compelling, powerful and often painful, it may be Ness’s darkest novel to date: yet even its most bleak moments are carefully balanced with notes of humour and hopefulness. Shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Award 2015 for the best book written in combining elements of a sci-fi thriller with the abstract and philosophical, this is a bold and unusual story shot through with melancholy. Patrick Ness has won at least twice and his title contains some adult themes that are unexpected at the beginning of the book. Every day, A wakes up in a different body. They could be male or female, gay or straight, alone or surrounded by family and friends – but they are always 16 years old, A’s own age. Over the years A has established a set of boundaries to live by: don’t get attached, don’t interfere, remember that the next day you’re going to move on. All that changes the day when A wakes up in the body of Justin, meets Justin’s girlfriend Rhiannon, and falls in love. This extraordinary novel defies easy description. Raising questions about identity, difference, the boundaries of gender and sexuality, and our responsibility to others this is a thought-provoking take on teen romance. Readable and engaging as well as complex and clever, this is a novel that will keep readers engrossed right up until its poignant conclusion. “Every Day” Written by David Levithan Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 18 Pride of Goffs Year 9 Award Winners Art Business Studies Business Btec Childcare Computing Dance Drama Economics English Food Technology French Geography History ICT Italian Maths Media GCSE Music Photography Physical Education Physical Education GCSE Physical Education Btec Psychology Product Design Religious Studies Science: Biology Chemistry Physics Spanish Textiles 100% Attendance Awards: India Daniels Georgia Butt Rafaelle Sordillo India Daniels Abigail Lemmon Millie Routley Caitlin Firn David Ware Melike Temizturk Marissa Kodikara Nada Despinic Charlotte Hunt David Ware Bayley Brace Emily Sabatino Daniel Harris Lenny Taylor Louise Harvey Louise Harvey Taylor Richardson Thomas Boucher Oliver Perkins Naveed Iqbal Mustafa Kurt Georgia Butt Anti-Bullying Advocates: Tilly Cooke Jada May Katie Pinnell Bethany Sizer House Awards: Kaiyan Ali Bethany Sizer Caitlin Firn Maddy Deardon Rhys Daniels Lenny Taylor Luke Smyth Harvey Taylor Aspiration & Achievement Award: Daniel Harris Volunteering Award: Charles Vellani Director of Learning Award: Carlo Cusenza Principal’s Award: Sam Edwards Jada May Max Croker Kaiyan Ali Abigail Lemmon Sasha Foley Adam Arnfield Alexander Atkinson Jessica Backman Matthew Brown Rhys Daniels Lewis Day Nada Despinic Daniel Harris Charlotte Hunt Connor Ingram Naveed Iqbal Marissa Kodikara Sitharthan Koneswaran Ece Kurt George Lawrence Chanel Melin Alice Monti Abigail O’Donnell Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 19 Luke O’Donnell Katie Pinnell Izel Polat Daniel Spicer Olivia Turner Goffs Graduation 2015 On Friday 22 May, the Year 13 class of 2008 celebrated the end of their time at Goffs with our traditional Goffs’ Graduation and Awards Ceremony. The day began with students donning Goffs blue gowns and mortar boards, complete with customised blue tassels and 2015 badges. They then made their way to the Performing Arts studio for a whole year photo, which made a wonderful memento of a very special group of young people. The Leavers’ Assembly included words of advice and appreciation by Principal, Ms Garner and Mrs Wilson, Director of Learning for Year 13. Formal awards were then presented for Sporting, Dramatic and Musical achievement, as well as for contribution to the school and for academic commitment. After some amusing anecdotes and memories from Mr Ellis, Director of Sixth Form, Head Boy, Gary Kemp and Head Girl, Rebecca Huwen took centre stage. They reminisced about their time at Goffs, remembering key moments and personalities, as well as thanking staff for their support. The assembly was completed by the Top Team who had organised their own special student awards. These ranged from best couple and worst car, through to the person most likely to make a million. The recipients were awarded with suitably creative and well-chosen prizes. The day was rounded off with a delicious buffet, featuring a graduation cake designed by ex-student, Leanne Briggs. Students are now looking forward to their Leavers’ Prom at De Vere, Theobalds and a well-earned rest from studying. Awards included: Graham Brewster Cup (in recognition of good work for Sixth Form issues) – Elise Hayden Outstanding Progress at KS5 – Jasmine Collins Contribution to Music – Rebecca Huwen Contribution to Drama – Christelle Elwin Coulshed Cup for Sport – Summer Murchison Parker Cup (for outstanding commitment to school life throughout their time at Goffs) – Amber Forrow We are really proud of the young adults that our Year 13 students have become, and of all their achievements throughout their time at Goffs. On behalf of all the staff, we wish them the very best of luck with their results this summer and for their future education and careers. The Sixth Form Team Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 20 Drama Review It’s been another busy year for the Goffs Drama Department, with intensive rehearsals starting way back in September for this year’s production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. A full set was hired in, along with Audrey II, who enjoyed eating the students night after night. Audiences were thrilled with the blood thirsty show and once again we had full participation from each year group both onstage and behind the scenes. The A Level groups were lucky enough to experience workshops from both ‘Splendid Theatre Productions’ and ‘Frantic Assembly’ and were able to use what they had learned in their own practical exam pieces. As well as numerous theatre visits, we enjoyed a half term trip to Disneyland, Paris, where Mrs Cowen was presented with a Maleficent hat as a ‘thank you’ (no idea what the students were trying to say!) Both GCSE groups and BTEC Performing Arts have been busy working on all their practical exams this year, with the standard of performing continuing to get better and better. KS3 have been enjoying a variety of practical topics, with a particular highlight for Year 7 being ‘The Haunted Lift’. There have been some spooky goings on in Mrs Cowen’s and Miss Holland’s lessons, with everyone blaming the ghost girl, Susie for the mishaps. Watford Palace Theatre came to us again to hold their annual auditions for their Youth Theatre production, which was ‘Peter Pan’ and once again we had one our students being selected from schools across Hertfordshire to take part. We have been very proud to have at least one student from Goffs get into WPT for the student productions for the past four years. We’ve also been lucky enough to have been approached by Warner Bros for their open casting call for ‘The Conjuring II’ which has proved to be very popular amongst our students. We have previously hosted an open audition for ‘Pan’ and it was a testament to the talent of our students to have been approached again. Mrs Cowen and Miss Holland wish you a very happy holiday and are already looking forward to next year; especially rehearsals for December’s production of ‘Blood Brothers’ (start brushing up on your Liverpool accent!) Mrs Cowen Head of Drama Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 21 Curriculum Enrichment Day Years 7 & 8 It’s been a busy year for Languages but we saved the best for last with our Years 7 & 8 Curriculum Enrichment Day. We have such a range of diverse cultures at our fingertips yet we might not know as much about them as we should. We designed a day to rectify this and decided to Celebrate Cultural Diversity at Goffs with four different sessions. Italy – Mr Emmot created an amazing session on Ancient Rome where students pretended to be gladiators and soldiers. Turkey – who knew that Turkey have a day dedicated just to children? National Chidren’s Day is a bank holiday in Turkey and is celebrated every 23rd April. Among the activities on this day, children are sent to replace all of the very important people in government, even the President and the Prime Minister! During this day these children discuss and make changes to the policies that affect them such as education and the environment – they also get lots of sweets! Our students collaborated on making their very own Children’s Day and had lots of fun, and sweets, in the process. To celebrate Brazil, we invited the London School of Capoeira to Goffs and they did some amazing sessions with a demonstration of Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music and everyone joined in. Miss Andreou and her Saturday Greek School colleague led the Greek Dance sessions as this is a huge part of Greek culture. Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 22 Curriculum Enrichment Day Years 7 & 8 continued Everyone had a great time and learned so much about the cultures at our school as part of promoting understanding of other cultures and acceptance. Finally as an added bonus, the highlight of the day was a group of Krav Maga instructors coming along to teach some children’s self-defence and fitness. This was so popular they might be back in the future for more Curriculum Enrichment Days, and maybe even an after school club. Mr Holding Teacher of French & Spanish Year 9 – The Enterprise Challenge! The year group took part in the National Enterprise Challenge on Enrichment Day. The National Enterprise Challenge is run annually and is an exciting and engaging inter-school competition open to all UK secondary schools with challenge ambassador - Theo Paphitis. The challenge was set by Alton Towers and gave the students a real insight into the world of business. The year group performed amazingly and the teams showed strategic vision, creativity and collaborative group work which resulted in a vast number of brilliant ideas which were presented to a very high standard. The winning team with “App Trap”: Lucy Badcock, Oliver Mason, Maddy Deardon, Bayley Brace and Rosie Grant The runners up with “Jack in the Box” were: Tamara Ibraham, Shannon McIntosh, Sean Vaughan and Daniel Spicer. Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 23 Year 9 – The Enterprise Challenge—continued The Challenge Team gave outstanding contribution places to Caitlin Firn and Kian Hartstean for their enthusiasm and tireless commitment to the day. The team represented Goffs School at the National Finals on 8th July 2015 at Alton Towers. Unfortunately they did not make the final round; however, the students’ performance was outstanding and innovative. The judges were extremely impressed and I was extremely proud. Well done to those students for all their hard work, effort and commitment! Miss Allen, Director of WRL / Enterprise Education Year 10 Year 10 covered a variety of topics including, Healthy & Unhealthy Relationships, Internet Safety, LGBTQ Awareness and finished the day off with a Trade Show. We had a number of guest speakers who spoke to the students about these subjects making them more aware of the on-going issues a teenager may encounter. It made them think about their future and how to keep themselves safe when embarking on new relationships. Mrs Lawrence Director of Learning: Year 10 Students at the Trade Show Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 24 Year 12 UCAS and Careers Approximately 70% of Goffs Sixth Form students will go onto higher education with the remaining 30% seeking employment/apprenticeships. At this stage, a number of the students are understandably still unsure of their future pathway. In order to provide them with advice and guidance there were two presentations to the whole cohort; the first of which was by Interserve, the company building our new school! Interserve were able to introduce a range of different job roles that exist within their organisation, the pathways to those jobs and the skills that employers are looking for when they recruit. The second presentation was by the University of Hertfordshire which focused on writing Personal Statements – valuable for both university and apprenticeship applications. The Year 12s then had the opportunity to start researching and planning for when they leave Goffs using either www.ucas.com or http://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/ The best part of the day was when some of our alumni returned to have 1-1 interviews with a number of the Year 12s providing “real-life” advice on gap years, apprenticeships and time at university. There was a real buzz in the room and it was fabulous to see how our past students have grown into such positive and confident young people! A very productive day all round with much information available to the students to help them start making their post 18 choices. Mrs N Shivalkar Teacher of Business Studies and Economics Director of Learning: Year 12 Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 25 Dance Show On Thursday 18th and Friday 19th June, 70 students from Goffs took part in the Dance Show to help raise money for our school Charity, Isabel Hospice. The students performed dances that they had learnt in the School Dance Club sessions, as well as Dances that they had choreographed themselves. The range of styles was one of the biggest that Goffs has even seen, varying from Ballet, Street, Musical Theatre, Commercial , and Modern. Every Goffs Dance Show has a theme and this year’s theme was “Goffs to the West End”. The talented students performed numbers that were worthy of being on the West End Stage. Included in the production was an amazing Matilda Medley, a recreation of Annie, a remix of the Lion King and songs from the successful story Grease. As well as selling tickets, refreshments and raffle tickets were also sold and the show managed to raise £1270 for Isabel Hospice, a massive achievement. A big well-done to all of the students who took part in the production; their commitment to every rehearsal was inspiring and they put on an incredible show. They have set the bar extremely high with their amazing talent and everyone is already looking forward to the Christmas Show. Carla Ball Head of Dance Director of Aspiration and Achievement Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 26 Pride of Goffs Year 10 Award Winners Art Business Studies Business Btec Childcare Computing Dance Drama Drama Btec English Food Technology French Geography Health & Social Care History ICT Italian Leisure & Tourism Maths Media GCSE Music Physical Education Physical Education GCSE Physical Education Btec Product Design Religions Studies Science: Biology Chemistry Physics Spanish Textiles 100% Attendance Award: Molly Matthews Connor Fitzgerald Amber Doolan Bryony Evans James Brimmicombe-Wood Georgia Beels Jake Hassan Laila Fagg Jordan Moreley Emma Carvall Isabel Adams Rebecca Finch Esra Kurt George Sexton Connor Fitzgerald Charlie Welch Chloe Day Tara McCormack Megan Sheridan Geran Elwin Jordan Woodford-Smith Boris Dubicki Charlie Hopkins Alexandra Ioannou Kira Scales Anti-Bullying Advocates: Kira Scales Nicola Hopkins House Awards: Lily Whyman Chloe Dedman Tegan Wollaston Connor Fitzgerald Jena Manzi Aspiration & Achievement Award: Thomas Fitzsimmons Volunteering Award: Nadine Bakali Director of Learning Award: Chloe Flynn Principal’s Award Allie-Georgia Aylott Eleanor Lord Jamie Salmon Joe Lannigan Callum Bowden Lucy Down Cameron Brown Alex Coombe Megan Dedman Laila Fagg Aleefa Haque Terry Kemp Connor Fitzgerald being presented with his award by Miss Long, vice Principal Byron Lal Jodie Mateides Danielle McGuire Angelo Rosario Luca Santangelo Megan Simmons Metin Unlu Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 27 Sixth Form Induction During week beginning 29th June 2015, Goffs welcomed the new Year 12 cohort for their induction into the Sixth Form. Students took part in taster lessons in their chosen subjects, where they enjoyed experiencing a range of analytical, verbal and creative challenges, and finding out about course content and assessment. They also attended sessions on how to develop the right study and time management skills, with some top tips from our current Year 13 students. New Sixth Form students found out more about Goffs School’s G-Involved volunteering programme and its role in helping students to develop life skills such as independence, leadership and confidence. Mr Emmott gave a presentation on the Extended Project which enables students to carry out independent research in an area of their choice, as well as gaining additional qualification to give them the edge in university and careers applications. The launch of the new Sports and Business Academies is now well underway, with large number of students signing up for additional coaching, training and entrepreneurial opportunities. It was lovely to see so many of our Year 11 students back again after their GCSE exams, and to see them welcome our applicants from other schools. We all know that Goffs Sixth Form is a friendly place, so it was good to hear one of our new students tell us that she felt as if she had been with us since Year 7. Although we sent the students away with plenty of work to get them ahead for next year, we wish them a welldeserved Summer break and we look forward to working with such an enthusiastic group of young people in September. Any students wishing to apply to Goffs Sixth Form should email Maxine Padgham at [email protected] as soon as possible. Senior staff will be in school from 20-21 August to advise and support students during the Results and Enrolment period. More examples from the Creataive Arts and Design Exhibition Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 28 A Review of Year 12 For the students of Goffs Sixth Form, Year 12 has been an exciting and challenging year. In the beginning it was clear that the ‘leap between Year 11 and Year 12’ was much bigger than anticipated, and it took some time for the students to adjust to what was now expected of them. By, February, however, students began to realise the changes they had to make and started to work a lot more at home and eventually in all of their non-teaching sessions. As the AS exams loomed closer all students felt the pressure and although at first it was difficult, with the help and support from teachers and support staff, by the end of the exams, students knew that they had done their best and that was important. As well as exams, Goffs Sixth Form also welcomed a new leadership team, aptly named ‘Top Team’. After a long selection process a new Head Boy (Joseph Goldsmith) and Head Girl (Lois Attard) were chosen. This team will continue into Year 13. The Team has a vast number of ideas as to how they can further improve Goffs and make the school a community. So far, the team has raised £423.06 for Red Nose Day, by selling cakes and red noses, and on Thursday 8th July a Tea Dance was held, in aid of Isabel Hospice in which both staff and students entertained members of the local care homes with tea, cakes, entertainment and dancing. The team has so many ideas for the future and can’t wait to get started on more in Year 13! On top of this, the extra curricular activities surrounding the Sixth Form have been plentiful. With the completion of the school musical, Little Shop of Horrors, in November, which was a resounding success the Drama department are now preparing for the new show, Blood Brothers. There have been theatre trips, which have all helped the year 12 Theatre Studies students and prospective Theatre Studies students too. The students involved in their Duke of Edinburgh have started their practice expedition and will be completing the actual expedition before the end of the Summer Term. There were also the Ski trip and Disney trip in February, which was loved by all students and on July 20th, after the Year 12s work experience, all students (including Year 12s this year) with good attendance took a trip to Thorpe Park as a reward. I know that I cannot speak for all of Sixth Form, but I feel that this year, though challenging, has been an interesting and rewarding year with many successes and well used opportunities. I wish all the best for the last Year 13s leaving and for the Year 12s joining in September. I hope that we as Year 13 will make it the best year we can and then leave as successful and rounded individuals. Lois Attard Head Girl Amber Redican, Year 13 Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 29 Pride of Goffs Year 12 Award Winners Art Business Studies Business Btec Drama Economics English Food Technology Geography History Maths Media Music Photography Physical Education Physical Education Single Physical Education Double Product Design Psychology Religious Studies Science Btec Biology Chemistry Physics Sociology Textiles Jessica White Rebecca Humphry Orthodoxia Athamou Charlotte Mundy Jay Andrews Chloe Clapson Rhianna Osborne Robert Ottolangui Marc Young Robert Ottolangui Tom Bradley Stephen Pink Bethany Turner Amy Bell & Aston Hickford Alex Adams & Lauren Day Ben Welch & Ben Larwill Bethany Turner Zoe Parrianen Ellie Francis Madison McMahon Georgina Farmer Ben Naidu James Smith Nick Brown Imogen Ward 100% Attendance Awards: Lee Cowdery Dominique Fenton Louise Joyce Daniel Limrick Anesu Mutsau Andreas Nicou Bethany Turner Top: Dilan Kalayci Year 13 Bottom: Jodie Willett, Year 13 Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 30 House Awards: Imogen Ward Stephen Pink Jason Abraham Chloe Stanley Takunda Chikasha Volunteering Award: Laura Carvell Director of Learning Award: Ben Naidu Principal’s Award: Katie Avril Junior Maths Challenge Farrin Haque 8A and Daisy Dewson 8E both qualified for the next stage. 7w1 Junior Maths Challenge Certificate Winners On Thursday 30th April 2015, all the students in the top Maths sets in Years 7 and 8 participated in the Junior Mathematics Challenge. This is a 60 minute exam consisting of 25 multiple choice questions which encourages students to think logistically and solve some difficult Mathematical problems. All the students performed brilliantly, achieving 2 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze certificates. A big well done to Farrin Haque 8A for getting the top score in the school and to Lloyd Waterson 7U for getting the top score in Year 7. Also, for the first time ever Farrin Haque 8A and Daisy Dewson 8E managed to qualify for the next stage. This means that the scores they achieved were in the top 25% in the country and they did a more challenging version on Tuesday 9th June 2015. Daisy managed to achieve a Merit Certificate which put her in the top 10% in the country. A massive well done and thank you to all of you who took part. Lloyd Waterson 7U achieving top grade in Year 7. 8w1 Junior Maths Challenge Certificate Winners 7e1 Junior Maths Challenge Certificate Winners 8e1 Junior Maths Challenge Certificate Winners Mr Vyras Head of Maths Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 31 Years 7 & 8 Charity Events Years 7 & 8 have been working very hard to raise money for different charities and have earned lots of House points for their Houses. Bench Ball Tournament Zain and Sami Moutwafiq organised a charity bench ball tournament to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Lots of year 7 students took part and there was a great sense of community spirit. £253 was raised for charity. Year 8 Sweet Sale Sophia Warder, Abigail Smith, Yasmine Abdelmoula, MillieWestfield, Adele Japal, Lauren Gray and Ceren Koypinur raised £120 for ‘Every Mother Counts’ charity by holding a lunch time sweet sale in our school shop. This was a very popular event and the girls worked very hard to set this up. Year 7 & 8 Zumbathon On Monday 13th July, we held a Zumbathon at Goffs school to raise money for ‘Every Mother Counts’ charity. Staff, students and parents attended and it was a fantastic event and lots of fun was had by all. An astonishing £200 was raised during the evening. Thank you to everyone who helped and took part in the above charity events. Miss McBride Director of Learning: Years 7 & 8 Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 32 Sports Week Sports Week at Goffs took place during the week of 22nd 25th June. It was an extremely successful week where all students in Year 7 through to Year 10 took part in at least two sporting activities. Each year group had a designated Sports Day and students were able to win points to contribute to their House system through participation as well as winning. The days began with a dodge ball competition for the boys and a rounder’s competition for the girls in their individual forms. They then swapped and competed in the other sport. During Periods 3 and 4, the students were able to put themselves forward to compete in the field events: long jump, high jump, shot putt, triple jump, javelin and discus. There were a lot of great results from students and the contribution to the competition was exceptional. After lunch, all students got the opportunity to cheer their House on whilst the track events took place. During the week, Goffs students showed that sport can be fun and have a great competitive nature. Well done to all students, especially those who put themselves forward to compete for their House in the harder events. The breakdown of forms and Houses are as follows: Year 7: FORM PLACES 1st = 7Q 2nd = 7I 2nd = 7Y 4th = 7T 4th = 7L 6th = 7A 7th = 7E 8th = 7U HOUSE WINNERS 1st = Eagle 1st = Falcon 3rd = Hawk 4th = Phoenix Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 33 The overall house winner was: 1st place = Eagle with 890 2nd place = Hawk with 862 3rd place = Falcon with 803 4th place = Phoenix with 718 Sports Week Continued Year 8: FORM PLACES 1st = 8I 2nd = 8E 3rd = 8Y 4th = 8A 5th = 8Q 6th = 8T 7th = 8U 7th = 8L HOUSE WINNERS 1st = Falcon 2nd = Hawk 3rd = Eagle 4th = Phoenix Year 9 FORM PLACES 1st = 9Y 2nd = 9Q 3rd = 9T 4th = 9E 5th = 9I 6th = 9L 7th = 9U 8th = 9A Year 10 FORM PLACES HOUSE WINNERS 1st = 10T 2nd = 10E 3rd = 10Q 4th = 10U 5th = 10L 6th = 10A 7th = 10I 8th = 10Y 1st = Eagle 2nd = Hawk 3rd = Phoenix 4th = Falcon Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 34 HOUSE WINNERS 1st = Eagle 2nd = Hawk 3rd = Falcom 4th = Phoenix House News Final House Points Totals Rank House Points this year Eagle Money raised for Isabel Hospice £380.36 1 2 Hawk £374.06 105,854 3 Phoenix £339.67 104,998 4 Falcon £232.99 100,606 115,367 Although it was a hard fought battle, huge congratulations must go to Eagle House who are for an impressive second year in a row the winners of the whole school House Point competition. Not only have Eagle secured the most House points but they have also claimed this year’s House Charity trophy and are the overall Sports Day winners. House Captain Tegan Wollastonsaid, “Like our House song, we were just simply the best”. Mr Denchfield said, “We are really proud of the achievements of many of the students in Eagle house this year. They have risen to every challenge that has been given to them and are a credit to our school community. We look forward to next years competition and the success that it will undoubtedly bring us again. (but I bet the rest are quaking in their boots! particularly Phoenix house.... )” In total our House System has raised £1327.08 for Isabel Hospice this year which is a fantastic achievement; many thanks to all staff and parents who have supported our charity events throughout the year. New House Captains: Miss Huseyin has been appointed as Director of the House System for next year. Her main role will be to support the House Captain team to co-ordinate house events throughout the year. House Captain Eagle Hawk Tegan Wollaston Connor Fitzgerald Katie Avril Falcon Daniel Harris Phoenix Vice House Captain Melike Temizturk Megan Murphy Charity Captain Games Captain Isabel Turner Daria Negue Charlotte Brooks Charlotte Mundy Oliver Baylis and Toby Lashmore Elysia Pottle and Rhys Colins Elias Gougos Laura Carvall Abigail Budd Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 35 Mickie Palfreman More House News House Events Calendar 2015-2016 28th September 2015: House Rugby 2nd October 2015: House Bake Off 30th November 2015: House Quiz 1st February 2016: The Voice Competition Opens 14th March12016: Inter form Free Rice 19th May 2016: House Battle of the Bands Miss Legg Associate Assistant Principal/HoD Geography Cadets This year 12 students have been chosen to be part of Goffs School Cadets programme. The students have been travelling up to St Edmunds College every Wednesday and taking part in drills and learning how to use a rifle safely. In July, 10 students went on a week long summer training camp where they gained team building skills, learnt how to patrol as a group and look out for danger, learnt how to take a rifle apart and how to put it together again, and long range shooting. All students came back with life skills which they can use. We are all very excited about next year. We will be extending the programme to two cohorts from Goffs from Years 9 and 10. This year’s cohort will be going into their second year and some of them will be promoted to leaders of the group. Students will continue to develop their skills for a range of activities. Aziz Rahman Youth Worker Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 36 Attendance and Punctuality Our current attendance has improved this year: YR7 YR8 YR9 YR10 YR11 96.7% 96.5% 95.4% 95.3% Current attendance: 95.9% CONGRATULATIONS to Year 7 again for being top attendees – WELL DONE! Well done also the whole of Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 for maintaining and further improving their attendance since May 2015. Year 11 students are, of course, no longer in school. Our very popular attendance school trip to Thorpe Park took place on 20th July and I know that everyone had a fantastic time. Our attendance is staying at a fantastic level; your on-going support is very much appreciated in encouraging your child to attend school every day. Our punctuality is excellent, so thank you to all the students and parents for your support in ensuring that students arrive at school on time. Please remember the gates close at 8.27, so I always advise all students to be in by 8.25am. Calling/emailing once you have received an absence text: Please ensure that you either email ([email protected]) or call Mrs Grote on 01992 424200 ext. 230 to explain all absence texts received. Please note Mrs Speller’s letter regarding the new level of attendance for the next school year – 96% and above is excellent. Also less that 90% will now be considered as Persistent Absence and may necessitate legal actions. Enjoy the summer and let’s hope it is a warm and sunny one! Either way I wish everyone a very restful holiday. Mrs Francoise Grote Student and Parent Support Officer 01992 424200 ext 230 [email protected] Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 37 Dates for the Next Half Term: Date Time Event Thursday 10th September 2015 6.00pm Year 11 Parent Information Evening Year 10 Parent Information Evening th Wednesday 16 September 2015 7.00pm 6.00pm Thursday 24th September 2015 7.15pm 5.00pm Monday 28th September 2015 6.00pm Secondary Transfer Evening (school closes early) Aspiration & Achievement Evening Tuesday 28th September 2015 6.00pm Iceland Parent Information Evening Wednesday 30 September 2015 6.00pm- Italian Trip Parent Information Evening Thursday 1st October 2015 6.00pm Year 7 Meet the Tutor/Parent Information Evening Language Aptitude Test 6.00pm Raising Achievement and Outstanding Lessons Evening th Saturday 10th October 2015 Thursday 15th October 2015 Year 12 Parent Information Evening Year 13 Parent Information Evening Rebecca Dawson, Year 13 Goffs July Newsletter 2015 - Page 38